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February 07, 2013

Horrifying video of girl, 16, being brutally beaten on school bus is posted on Facebook by her bragging attacker

The video is tough to watch.

It shows a teenage girl viciously attacking a classmate, 16-year old Chase Cristia, on the school bus.

Pasco County deputies say the Honor Roll student was ambushed and beaten from behind. Then her attacker posted the video on Facebook and bragged about it.

"I just kind of ducked down and thought I can't do anything about it because I don't want to get into trouble, and I don't want that to affect the way people think of me," Cristia said.

Chase said the girls got mad at her earlier in the day when she stuck up for a friend who they were bullying.

But she never expected this.

"I didn't think it was possible for somebody to hit someone like that. I cried the whole way home, and I called my mom," she said.

"I was hysterical. I didn't know what to think. I was scared. I was worried for her. I wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing for her," said her mother, Tracy.

Making it even worse, they say the bus driver did nothing to stop it.

"He said 'Well, what did you want me to do? Get in between them and get hit?" the mother claims. "I said I wanted you to protect my daughter, and he didn't. Then he screamed at me to get off the bus."

The parents called 911 and pressed charges. Sheriff's deputies arrested the girl who beat her and charged her with simple battery.

And the girl who videotaped the attack was arrested, too, charged as a principal to the beating. But the video is still out there.

"I don't want these girls to have their lives ruined, but these kids need to know there are consequences – that this is unacceptable behavior," Tracy said. "They're not going to bully her. They're not going to bully us. I'm not going to be scared to tell this story."

"I feel things like this are wrong, and I want people to see a teenager who's experienced something like this, not only to have been in a fight but to be brutally attacked. I want them to know these things happen and to be aware. I don't want this to happen to somebody else," Chase said.

The Pasco County School District says it's investigating what happened on the school bus, including the bus driver's conduct. School officials told Chase and her mother that the girls have been suspended.

They're also filing for a restraining order against the girls. In the meantime, Chase plans to go back to school later this week. She doesn't want the ordeal to hurt her grades or what has been an otherwise successful school year for her.